Naruto Shippuden: Meikei
by nstar93
Summary: The Akatsuki are hunting down the Tailed Beasts and Miyuki's mission is clear: Stop them. She knows what and who are at stake and she'll do anything in her power to stop the Akatsuki once and for all. The only problem is, she has a lot more to worry about. Like Orochimaru trying to draw her in. And a still rogue Sasuke. But can Miyuki stop them all?
1. Chapter 1 The Children

**Naruto Shippuden: Meikei**

 **Chapter 1. The Children**

"CHIDORI!"

I watched as the chirping blue ball of chakra formed in the palm of my hand, felt the energy and power coursing through my veins, making my blood pump faster.

I ran for him, each step bringing me closer and closer until he was just within reach, the Chidori coming down to touch his skin when upon contact, his skin chipped away, hissing pythons bursting from underneath instead of blood, their bodies hissing as they tried to wrap around my arm.

Hideki shot kunai at the right moment and before the python bodies could close in on my arm, I jumped up, flipping through the air and not stopping until I had a decent distance between me and his python consumed body. The pythons hissed louder, blood seeping out from the scratches the whizzing kunai had caused.

"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!" Kyoske's fireball rammed into the hissing and dancing snakes, turning them to ash instantly. I braced myself, sensing when he darted out of the trees once more, his mouth opening, his long tongue spiraling out, revealing a glint of silver at the tip. I glared at him and jumped to the side as the blade sliced through the spot where I had been standing, sending a sharp gust of wind in my direction.

His dark eyes followed me and saw when I pulled out a kunai, he met it with his sword. We clashed, our weapons clanging sharply in the air before he released the sword from his mouth and grabbed it with one of his hands. He brought it down sharply and I jumped back, my eyes wide as it hit me.

"H-how?" I breathed, wiping my mouth with my arm, feeling the mesh armor on my arm scratching at my lips lightly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He purred before launching toward me again, this time slicing me on my arm.

"Miyuki!" Kyoske shouted, jumping down from his tree branch his sword drawn and over his shoulder. I gripped my bleeding arm and didn't waste time jumping back as they turned and collided, their blades rubbing against each other.

"Water Style! Raging Waves!" Hideki shouted.

They pushed away, jumping out of the way but Hideki followed him and I formed hand signs, the Chidori appearing once more as I combined its power with the powerful stream of water, making it more unstable, but coated in electricity. It caught him near the end and he seethed, his body slamming against a tree trunk.

"You're getting weaker." Kyoske shouted, landing beside me, sweat dotting his brow.

He chuckled darkly and it was just as I last remembered it. Filled with spite and a cynical humor. As if he were in on a joke only he knew. It irritated me, I discovered, made my stomach turn into tight knots. I looked at him, really looked at him and found that after all this time…he really was just how I remembered him.

"My children…" He breathed, running a hand through his long hair and I remembered, with clenched fists, how my own fingers used to do the same. I even remembered how much it used to warm my heart to look into his eyes and see his snake-like smile.

...

"Miyuki?"

Temari's face appeared in my line of view and I blinked at her, feeling confused and embarrassed. I stepped back, putting some distance between us and laughed lightly, feeling my cheeks warm.

"Oh…sorry." I smiled. "I must have dazed out."

Temari chuckled, shaking her head. "I figured as much. You're pretty hopeless, you know that?"

My blush deepened. "So I'm told."

"It's a pretty good turn-out, right?" Temari asked, sounding like she was bragging as she looked out at the collection of Suna elders and top ranking officials in the room. Everyone was talking and smiling, sipping sake and tea. It felt nice, the atmosphere laid back and relaxed.

I tried to shake the memory of Orochimaru from my mind and the fact that somehow after his fight with Naruto and Jiraiya two years ago, he had regained the ability to move his arms again. Tonight wasn't about Orochimaru or Kabuto or anyone else. It was about Gaara and his inauguration as Suna's Kage.

"Yeah." I said, my voice weak before I cleared my throat. "Everyone seems really happy."

Temari nodded and took a sip of her tea which I noticed she had been holding ever since the party began. It didn't look like she had drunken much of it either. Her fingers tapped nervously against the side of the cup and her eyes scanned the room. In one corner Kyoske and Hideki stood close, their heads low.

I had no doubt that they were talking about Orochimaru and our latest discovery. It had been bad timing that was all. We had been on our way to Suna when our marks had reacted and just on the village's outskirts we had run into him and we hadn't hesitated. We had held nothing back but it had come with a price.

"Where is he?" Temari asked, her voice dripping with curiosity.

I jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her. Her brow was pressing together at the middle and her glances around the room grew more frantic. I opened my mouth to ask what she was talking about when I realized.

Gaara was gone. He had been standing right in the center of the room, drifting closer and closer to the table filled with trays of food and then suddenly, he was gone. When had he drifted off? Where had he gone?

I looked out at the balcony on the other side of the room and caught sight of something white flapping in the wind. I placed a hand on Temari's arm and nodded toward the balcony doors and instantly felt her calm down. Her lips pressed into a hard-lined smile and she nodded.

"Good to know he didn't just leave to go to bed." She said. "But he really should be in here."

"I'll get him." I said, moving past her and heading for the doors. I was focused on the double doors when I caught sight of something at the corner of my eyes. I stopped walking and turned, my body tense when I saw him, Orochimaru standing against the wall, a cruel smile on his lips as he watched me.

My chest felt tight and my hand hovered over my kunai holster as the memory from our meeting burst into my mind once more. He had called us his children and even now the word sent shivers down my spine.

 _"We're not anything to you." Hideki snapped. "We're here to burn that bridge."_

 _"Kill you if we can." I said._

 _He looked at me, marveling at my words, at my confidence. He knew as well as I did that cursing him was not my place, not something I, out of the three of us, would do. I had worshipped him, loved him even. But now, my hatred for him was true and fierce. I wouldn't let him own me. I wouldn't let him control me._

 _He chuckled again, closing his eyes, his shoulders trembling. I glared at him while Kyoske braced himself, and Hideki bit his bottom lip. When he looked back up at us again, the look in his eye was different but before we could place it, before we could look away, he used his Genjutsu and I felt it all in my veins._

 _Our deaths before us, snakes crawling out from our nostrils and open mouths. It sent shivers down my spine but then there was the how, sharp kunai slicing against our flesh, pain shooting all over our bodies. The snakes burrowing their way inside of us, some of them already there from the beginning._

 _I couldn't help but smirk while the boys shivered beside me. I met his gaze confidently, sweat dotting my forehead as I managed to stay half focused and half lost in the pain. It was a close call, but I knew enough about him to know that he had had a trick like that up his sleeve. I had let it get to me in the Chunin exams. I had been frozen with fear at the mere sight of him. I had spent so long unsure of how I really felt about him, unsure if the emotions in my chest meant hatred or admiration._

 _"You're gonna have to do…better than that." I grunted, lifting my hand and digging my fingers into the wound on my shoulder, crying out as the fiery pain shot up and down my arm in response. Instantly, the terrible visions ended and he chuckled across the clearing, amused._

 _"Nothing short of what I expected." He purred, sounding proud and it made me sick to my stomach._

 _I grabbed Kyoske and Hideki's trembling shoulders, releasing the Genjutsu cast on them and watched as their bodies shrunk even lower._

 _"I forgot…about that…" Hideki panted, sweat dotting his forehead._

 _"Bastard." Kyoske breathed, wiping his mouth as he shot him a murderous glare. "I'm gonna kill you."_

I blinked and he was gone. In his place stood another shinobi with long black hair whose resemblance ended there. My palms were sweaty and my hand was trembling and just as the shinobi turned to face me, I looked away, biting my bottom lip as I started toward the balcony doors again. I needed fresh air, needed to shake the memory of Orochimaru from my mind.

I was outside a moment later, the cool and dry night air brushing against my skin as I exhaled into it, welcoming the feeling on my body. I stepped right up to the balcony, my hands firmly gripping the railing as I turned my gaze down toward Suna.

Gaara's new home/office overlooked the beautiful village of clay and tonight every building was lit from the inside, casting a ghostly glow on the streets. I could hear cheering from the village's center where the civilians were no doubt still celebrating even though it was late at night. I thought back to the ceremony, remembering how loud everyone's cheers had sounded. It had made Goosebumps rise on my skin and I had been surprised, looking around, wondering if these were the same people. If these were the same people who had at one point, wanted him dead.

"I just needed a moment." Gaara's voice interrupted my thoughts and I turned only to find him sitting on the side, on one of the benches.

I smiled at him and walked over, easing down beside him on the bench. He was sitting hunched over, his arms resting on his legs, his gaze cast out toward the village gates. He seemed impassive, just how I remembered him last but even I knew there was something different in his eyes. Maturity? I had never seen Gaara work a crowd before and tonight he had done it with ease. He had even gotten a few people to laugh and even though his lips never curved into anything deeper than the smallest of smirks, even that was improvement.

"I don't blame you." I said, throwing a thumb behind us. "There's a lot of people in there. I needed some air myself."

Gaara glanced at me. "No…for you…there's something else."

I flinched at the infliction in his voice but he didn't press me further. Instead, he turned his gaze back toward the village gates. I swallowed, finding it a little difficult and looked away, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. I blinked and again found myself lost in the memory, feeling the same sickening, hatred bubble in my stomach. Suddenly, I wasn't staring out at Suna's glittering, hazy lights, I was staring at Orochimaru.

 _Kyoske's declaration made him laugh out loud and it filled the area around us, making a shiver run up my spine._

 _"Lord Orochimaru." A new voice called from above and we all looked only to see Kabuto Yakushi standing in the branches of one of the tallest trees, his arms folded and an amused smile on his lips._

 _"I fear that we're running out of time." Orochimaru called out to us. "My children…it was good seeing you."_

 _"You're not going anywhere!" Hideki growled, pulling kunai with explosive tags attached at the handles from his pockets. He fired them at him, with razor sharp precision and on contact they went off, bringing the trees he had been standing near down in a cloud of thick, black smoke._

 _Kyoske ran toward the smoke just as dozens of slithering snakes shot out and he sliced them all, cutting them in half. Orochimaru himself shot out from the smoke and as they clashed, Kabuto appeared above Hideki and I, chakra surrounding his hands and feet. Hideki shot forward to protect me and Kabuto swiped his arm to the side, hitting Hideki in the stomach._

 _He cried out, falling back and landing in my open arms and I held him just as Orochimaru kicked Kyoske back as well. Kyoske landed, hard beside me and groaned while Orochimaru and Kabuto stood beside each other._

 _"My Miyuki…how I've missed you." Orochimaru said._

 _I gripped Hideki._

 _"Looks like your little reunion will have to be cut short today." Kabuto said, reaching up to adjust his glasses._

 _"Shut up!" I growled, earning a chuckle from Orochimaru._

 _"My how you've grown." Orochimaru said._

 _I glared at him as he continued._

 _"I wonder what Sasuke boy would think if he could see you now." Orochimaru said._

 _My lips trembled as Hideki stirred in my arms._

 _"Wouldn't you like to see him again?" Orochimaru asked me. "You're sweet, sweet Sasuke?"_

 _Kabuto snickered. "I'm sure she'd like that very much."_

 _"You rejected me the first time." Orochimaru said. "I extended an offer to you and you rejected it."_

 _"But here Lord Orochimaru is now, in the flesh, asking you once more." Kabuto said._

"How is he?" Gaara asked, folding his arms and shooting me a glance.

I sniffed and looked at him, biting my bottom lip as I thought. I knew instantly who he was talking about, who I had found myself wondering about the moment his name had been uttered. _Sasuke_. It had been about six or seven months since I had last seen him on a mission I had followed Naruto on. Our reunion then had been everything but friendly and romantic even though weeks prior they had been. What I mostly remembered of the mission was that we fought…constantly but at the end of it I had learned that he had his own problems and I had my own. I had held onto him, like some sort of safety blanket, but there had been no need to.

Sasuke, I learned, would do what he wanted when he wanted. I had always wanted to play some part in his decisions but he was blinded by his own needs, his own desires. Whatever we were didn't complicate things, but it definitely made it hard to focus and whatever emotion it brewed up within him, it was clear he didn't know what to do with it, with us even.

"I haven't seen him." I said, sitting up straighter and turning away. "Lately." I added as Gaara continued to stare at me, expectantly.

He let out a breath that sounded more like a chuckle and my head whipped back in his direction where his mouth was hidden behind his scarf and his eyes were closed.

"Of course."

"What?"

"I was waiting for you to be specific. I was hoping that my suspicions weren't correct."

I flushed. "Things were going well, until he started being a jerk."

"He is always a 'jerk'." Gaara said, his voice slightly amused and his eyes opened to take me on.

"He was bearable." I said. "But he's training under Orochimaru and he wants revenge on Itachi…and it's complicated."

"I'm sure."

"But I'm focusing on me." I said. "I realized…I'm not his top priority."

"What gave that away?" Gaara asked, shooting me a hard look. "I could've told you that."

I smirked. "If I remember correctly, you did."

"He did what?" A new voice asked as the door slid open.

We looked up and saw Temari saunter out. She had left her tea inside and she looked between us, a small smile on her lips.

"I was just telling Miyuki about how right I was about Uchiha." Gaara said, easing back. Temari took the moment to ease down onto his lap and he moved to make her comfortable, his hand coming down almost protectively on her hip.

Temari scoffed, easing back against his chest, lifting an arm and placing it behind his neck, pulling him closer.

"Uchiha? You're still about him? I thought you had moved on."

I rolled my eyes, hating the way she brushed Sasuke off but also hating myself a little bit for caring. I had sworn off of him. The last thing I should have been doing was caring.

"I have." I lied, earning a look from Gaara.

"You need someone better." Temari said, biting her lip. I could practically hear her thinking of suitors and shivered at the thought of the men Temari knew. If they were anything like the two girls I had met prior, the blonde girl with the braids and the other with the big eyes, I wouldn't like to know them.

"I'm good." I insisted.

"He doesn't know what it's like to love." Gaara said. "Because he's never had it before, because he's never had anyone."

I remembered telling him how I loved him but I also remembered how the word had felt incomplete. It hadn't been enough but the look on his face…I hadn't even focused on it.

"He said I was important to him." I said.

"Which isn't love." Temari pointed out before shooting a look at Gaara. "But then again who am I to judge?"

Gaara looked at her. "I just never saw what was in front of me."

"No, you saw me, you just chose to keep me at arm's length." Temari said. "I could never take a hint."

"You were persistent." Gaara said.

Temari shrugged before shooting Gaara a warm smile. She rustled his hair, smoothing her fingers out across his scalp before pulling his head to her chest, hugging him.

I watched them, feeling a twinge of jealousy bubble in my stomach. I had always known about Temari's crush but somewhere after the Sand betrayed Konoha, they had made their relationship official of sorts. I knew it had a great deal to do with Naruto and whatever words the two had exchanged when they had lied a few feet away from each other. Naruto had changed him, somehow, made the hard shell of a boy who had been feared into the man standing before me, a Kage now.

"Aren't you thrilled?" She giggled and I looked away, feeling like a third wheel.

"You need someone who will take you into account." Gaara said to me. "Someone who will notice you and treat you right."

"Thanks for the boy advice, dad." I joked and looked at him only to find that he was regarding me with seriousness. I sighed and looked away right after, my shoulders slumping. I was over talking about Sasuke, someone I hadn't thought much of ever since our last encounter and Orochimaru.

"So…how is this living situation going to work out?" I asked and glanced at them.

"Kankuro and I live here." Gaara said. "But it's always been our home."

"Yeah…I know that but…what about you Temari?"

"What about me?"

"Are you moving in?" I asked, looking at her.

She blinked at me before turning a sharp scarlet color and pulled away from Gaara.

"You're practically married anyway." I said, feeling and probably sounding sour about it but happy to see the color on her face rise even higher.

She huffed, gawking as she looked between Gaara and I. Gaara seemed to be over the conversation and was focused on the village lights beyond Temari.

"You know how to get under my skin." Temari snapped, still blushing as she pushed off of Gaara and headed back to the door.

"I just know how to pay you back." I said with a wink, which made her huff as she turned away from me and went back inside, shutting the door behind her.

"You didn't have to be so mean." Gaara said, pushing himself up to his feet after a moment. I sighed, smoothing a hand through my hair, combing it over my shoulder.

"She's a big girl." I said. "Besides, it's what she gets."

"You two…" Gaara breathed and turned toward the door. "Think about what I said."

"I don't need anyone." I said to him.

"He's a rogue ninja." Gaara said, his hand on the handle of the door. He looked back at me. "That has consequences no matter which way you look at it. You would be forced to act, not hold back. If you had to, if you were given the order to take him out, would you be able to?"

"I'm not answering that."

"I don't expect an answer. I just want you to think about it." Gaara said.

I looked at him, my throat tight, my hands in fists in my lap. I could feel the hot sting of tears forming in my eyes and I hated myself for letting Gaara's words bring them out of me.

"What if your people hated you tomorrow?" I challenged, feeling terrible as soon as the words left my mouth. I had felt like a trapped animal, forced into a corner. He had clapped at me and I had been desperate to clap back and instead of thinking my words through, I had said the first ones that had come to my mind.

But, if he was hurt, he didn't show it. He stared at me, a thoughtful expression coming over his face.

"I would work just as I did to get them to trust me again." Gaara said as if it had been that simple. As if trust could be gained overnight, as if in order to change the minds of every civilian and official in the village, was as easy as breathing. But, looking into his eyes, I could see it was just the opposite. It had been a short amount of time, but it had been a lot of work. It had been hard, tedious even but he had done it and he would do it all again if he had to.

He left shortly after, leaving me on the balcony alone with my thoughts and bitter emotions. I turned back to face Suna, hugging myself as a breeze came, making me shiver.

" _Wouldn't you like to see him again?" Orochimaru asked me. "You're sweet, sweet Sasuke?"_

His voice made my head throb and I squeezed my eyes shut and found myself right back in the forest where Orochimaru and Kabuto had stood with confident smirks on their faces. They had been sure that they had me right where they wanted me. As if they had said the magic words that would make me sway from Kyoske and Hideki.

 _"And my answer is the same as it was back then." I growled. "I'd rather die than come back with you."_

 _Kabuto glared at me before he snapped. "Watch your mouth when you talk to Lord Orochimaru!"_

 _Orochimaru's eyes narrowed down at me. "Be careful my dear Miyuki. Be very careful what you wish for."_

 _They were gone in the next passing wind and as the boys came too, I sat glaring at the spot they had been standing in, cursing myself for coming so close and then letting them slip between my fingers._

 _"Wha-what happened?!" Kyoske growled, jumping to his feet and looking around._

 _"They got away." Hideki said, placing a hand on his stomach as a pained expression came over his face._

 _I moved his hand away and placed my hand over the spot where Kabuto had struck him and used medical Ninjutsu to see his wound. It was a cut from the inside and it was near a vital spot. I started to heal it while Hideki wriggled in pain beneath my hand._

 _"What happened?" Kyoske asked, looking down at us._

 _"The chakra on his hands and feet." I said._

 _"It cuts, felt like a blade had sliced my skin." Hideki said, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "But he cut me inside, didn't he?"_

 _"I heard he's adept in that." Kyoske growled. "That was what his file said after Jiraiya and Naruto came back with Tsunade."_

 _I healed Hideki as best I could and pulled my hand away while Kyoske helped us both to our feet._

 _"They got away." I confirmed._

 _"Damn!" Kyoske growled, kicking at the dirt. "We were so close!"_

 _"I can't sense them anywhere." Hideki said. "So we can't even catch up to them."_

 _"They're probably airborne by now." Kyoske growled._

I hit my fists against the railing, the pain bringing me out of the memory and back into reality. He was gone. He was gone…again.

It angered me. After everything, we still weren't strong enough. We still weren't strong enough to take him on. But we had information. His arms were back and in perfect condition. He could move them, use Jutsu and something told me that we were the only ones who had survived to tell the tale.

I looked up at the starry night sky and sucked in a breath, hearing the party behind the glass doors begin to die down. It was getting late and tomorrow would be a new day, a better day. I glanced back at the party and spotted Gaara and Temari in the center of the room, Gaara's arm around Temari's waist as he spoke to a group of Elders, his expression impassive and only slightly hard.

 _He'll be great_ , Hideki had said after his speech earlier in the afternoon.

I was happy then, that after all this time, at least one of my friends had had something good happen to them. In the past two years, at least someone's dream had been accomplished.


	2. Chapter 2 Gamble for the Win! Enter Kak

**Chapter 2. Gamble for the Win! Enter Kakuzu**

"Can we first talk about how tired I am of playing back-up instead of being the one who calls the shots?" Kyoske growled as we stood in Akane's dim office.

Megumi-sensei sucked in an impatient breath and turned to glare at Kyoske who stood with his hands folded at the back of his head.

"Firstly," Megumi-sensei growled, grabbing and pulling Kyoske toward her by the back of his shirt. "You three don't have the best track record lately for getting missions done."

"Secondly," Hideki said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants. "You've never called the shots…ever."

"And thirdly, Kyoske." Akane said, her voice weak. "Your orders are to _assist_. The word 'back-up' never left my lips."

"Got it?" Megumi-sensei growled, shaking a frazzled Kyoske once before letting him go harshly.

Kyoske stumbled slightly and I reached out to steady him while he huffed and turned away, rolling his eyes.

"So we're going to be helping the Cloud shinobi, again?" Hideki asked.

Akane nodded. "The Cloud have been working tirelessly to find the Akatsuki ever since their last encounter, but unfortunately they can't afford to send a group to engage as much as they'd like, but they can afford to track them."

"So they think they found a hide-out in the Land of Water?" I asked. "Just on the outskirts of Kirigakure?"

Akane nodded, folding her hands on her desk and taking a long blink before responding further. "These members are new, at least the Cloud has never seen them before. There were talks of them separating so at best there might be only one of them."

"You want us to kill them?" Kyoske asked.

Akane shrugged. "I want more information from the source." She eased back. "Orochimaru was once part of the Akatsuki and while I believe that ties have been cut between the two, I still think they have some information on him."

"So we want to find out whatever we can about Orochimaru, then?" Hideki asked. "So we'll have to get this member alone."

"I hear they're unstable so be careful. You might not be able to get much out of them but I believe if anyone knows anything it would be Itachi." Akane said.

I felt my body tense. "They aren't exactly going to just hand over the information to us." I pointed out.

"Yes, well, we can at least try to track him down and maybe we can bubble that over to a land with specially trained shinobi." Akane said.

"ANBU." Megumi-sensei said. I glanced up at her.

Itachi had been the one to land Kakashi in the hospital a few years back and he still suffered slight complications from his exposure to Itachi's Sharingan. It wasn't anything major but I could tell by the tension in her shoulders, Megumi-sensei wanted to make him pay. If he was one of the shinobi in the Land of Clouds, sensei would be the first one challenging him.

"Possibly." Akane said before waving us off. "You're due to meet up in a few hours so I'd get a move on if I were you."

We all nodded and excused ourselves before we turned and headed out to pack. We met up an hour later at the docks and we were on the water just as quickly. It was going to be a short trip and for that, I had to admit that I was grateful for.

"How was the ceremony?" Megumi-sensei asked as she observed her cuticles.

Hideki was rowing and Kyoske was letting his hand drift along the surface of water, his expression thoughtful. I had been lost in random thoughts, reflecting on my conversation with Gaara, our fight with Orochimaru, and distantly about Sasuke.

"Great." Hideki said. "He cleaned up well."

"Let's not hype him up." Kyoske said, righting himself and crossing his arms.

"Jealous?" Megumi-sensei asked, arching an amused brow.

Kyoske scoffed. "Please."

"It feels like he's different." I said. "But he's still the same Gaara…just mature."

"Something Kyoske knows nothing about." Hideki added, earning a look from Kyoske.

"That's good." Megumi-sensei said. "I'm glad it worked out for him in the end."

"They don't seem to view him as a weapon either." Hideki said. "He seems to give them hope if anything."

Sensei nodded and yawned, stretching out her legs. Silence passed between us for a few moments, Hideki's final words lingering in the air until Kyoske started fidgeting.

"So…we don't know who these Akatsuki members are?" He asked.

"No clue." Sensei said.

"So we don't know what we're getting ourselves into." Kyoske said matter-of-factly.

"Itachi won't be there." Hideki said. "But we can tease out information from the member about him."

Sensei nodded in response.

"Samui and the others have been watching them all this time?" Hideki asked. I noted Kyoske's body tensing at the mere mention of Samui and was turning to give him a curious look when Sensei spoke up.

"They've been alternating for the most part." She said.

"What have they found out?" I asked.

Megumi-sensei tensed, but only slightly and only for a moment. "Jiraiya's suspicions are correct right."

I arched an eyebrow, remembering Naruto's charismatic and perverted Sanin of a sensei. They were still travelling together from what I had gathered from sensei. But, two years had ended officially months ago.

"About what?" Hideki asked.

"The Jinchūriki." Sensei said. "The Akatsuki have been going around collecting them, killing them by extracting the beasts."

My eyes widened. "That's what they've been doing? That's their purpose?"

"The purpose isn't clear." Megumi-sensei said, her eyes cutting over to me. "But they've been invading villages in search of the tailed beasts for a while now. Different members every time which makes me wonder exactly how long they've been at it."

"No one has done anything to stop them?" Kyoske asked.

"You're forgetting that the life of Jinchūriki are anything but pleasant. I'm sure no one batted an eyelash when they just disappeared or were killed in battle." Hideki said.

"But what happens when the beast is out? Won't it go on a rampage like the Nine Tails?" Kyoske asked, craning his neck so that he could look at Hideki.

I thought about Naruto, my stomach tightening. He was out there with Jiraiya and as much as I wanted to believe he would be safe, a part of me wasn't so sure about it. How many members could Jiraiya take on anyway? If the Akatsuki were after Naruto…if they were after his tailed beast…they'd be merciless about it.

"Not if you contain them. The Akatsuki go back quite some time." Megumi-sensei said. "Before they raised any eyebrows."

"So they've been kidnapping and killing people for a long time?" I asked, realizing my sarcasm a moment after the words left my mouth.

"The first was a Jinchūriki of Iwagakure." Megumi-sensei said, folding her arms. "Went by the name of Han."

"Han?" Kyoske repeated, wrinkling his nose.

"I wouldn't be surprised if anyone heard of him." Sensei said. "He lived on the outskirts of the village and was very familiar with being alone. The village didn't even send shinobi after him when the Akatsuki were rumored to have crossed paths with him."

Pain shot across my chest. "That's so sad." I said, my voice small. I imagined Naruto being taken and wondered if from his upbringing, if he would have been the same way. Would anyone have gone after him? Would anyone have cared?

"It was a quick fight but it was probably their easiest. No witnesses and no unnecessary ninja getting in the way." Sensei said with a shrug.

"Who's next?" Hideki asked.

"Fū."

"Fū?" Kyoske asked again, starting to sound like some sort of parrot with the way he repeated things.

"She was taken sometime during the Chunin Exams." Sensei said. "I remembered hearing something about her being killed, the Jinchūriki of Takigakure."

"During our exams? The _latest_ one?" Hideki asked.

Sensei nodded. "There were quite a few attempts made but ultimately they managed to take her out as well."

"So the Cloud caught onto this?" I asked. "This is why they're so passionate?"

"They want to protect their own Jinchūriki is that it?" Hideki asked. "He's important to them, trained Karui and Omoi, didn't he?"

Sensei shrugged. "Who knows what their intentions are. Maybe they were spooked into it. Maybe they had a close call."

"But the Leaf isn't worried?" I asked. "What about Naruto? What about Gaara?"

"Nothing has happened yet. Gaara has never even been approached by the Akatsuki and as for Naruto…there was only that one time and even that was minor and geared more toward Sasuke."

"Or Sasuke made it about him." Kyoske said and I fought the urge to hit him.

"Regardless, the Akatsuki need to be stopped so we should be grateful someone in these nations cares. Regardless, Cloud's Kage is looking into it, leading the charge, taking the initiative. He's managed to pull the curtain back but oh so much and all they need is the one piece that will get everyone else to peek inside." Megumi-Sensei said.

"Aren't we lucky to be able to help out then." Kyoske said dryly.

Hideki thought everything over, his gaze cast out toward the water. I thought myself, thinking about Gaara and Naruto. Jiraiya was right but the nations weren't doing anything about it. Naruto didn't even fully understand it all but that was why they had been constantly moving.

"But why the collecting…" Hideki asked. "That much power…they're planning something world domination maybe?"

"Whatever it is, it's terrible and they need to be stopped." Megumi-sensei said.

"So we need to try our best, not just for Naruto and Gaara's sake, but for the rest of the Jinchūriki." I said.

"Do they even know?" Kyoske asked. "Do they even know that they're being hunted?"

"It's not officially confirmed." Megumi-sensei said. "The members go about causing damage everywhere they step. Their actions are not at all unified either. In other words, there's no pattern to their movements."

Kyoske's hands balled into fists while I stuffed mine under my thighs.

"So, in other words." Hideki said as he rowed. "No."

More silence as we all lapsed into our thoughts. I stared out at the water, thinking the Akatsuki over. It was crazy to me, all of it, but then again, it made me wonder about everyone's true intentions. Where exactly did someone like Itachi fit into it all? He didn't seem like the type to slaughter his family and then get involved in such a tedious group. There was something there, something tying him in place and I wondered if it had something to do with Karin. Even she seemed out of place in the group, which to a certain degree, I supposed she was. The group didn't acknowledge her, but she was always around. She didn't seem like the type to be interested either. They both didn't seem like the type to stay for the other either, well maybe Karin was.

I thought about her, remembered how she always seemed one step ahead of me, how I had always felt some sort of connection burning between us. I had seen flashes too, remembering a nameless girl with red eyes locked away with me when I had been wrapped around Orochimaru's clutches. It had been her and we were connected by the demon that Orochimaru had implanted within us. We had been tools together, a part of Project Zero, something I didn't understand fully but knew that if one of us died, so would the other.

"This is crazy." Kyoske grumbled, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"If we could find out who they're next target is, we could protect them and even if we lose, at least a point would be proven, at least the entire world would show some more worry over them." Sensei said.

I nodded in agreement and looked up, spotting the outline of the shore in the distance. We were getting close and my body tingled. A lot was riding on this mission. It was about more than putting an end to the Akatsuki and their disastrous ways. It was about protecting the Jinchūriki and about protecting my friends.

We travelled the rest of the way in silence and when we touched down on the docks, we made our way to the rendezvous point only to find an agitated and impatient Karui.

"Bought time you people got here!" She huffed.

"We're here now." Kyoske fired back.

"Good." A voice said as Samui and Omoi appeared in the treetops.

We all looked toward it and saw a familiar face move out from behind a tree.

"Because time is something that hasn't been on our side and isn't about to."

"Darui?" Megumi-sensei said, shock filling her features.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." He said. "It's been a long time, old friend."

I knew enough about Darui to know that he was the Cloud Kage's right hand man and that he and sensei went way back. They had become good friends somewhere around the time when sensei was becoming a skilled kunoichi. It had been years since they had last laid eyes on each other but I knew despite everything, years weren't against them. They had the kind of relationship that could pick back up no matter where it dipped off.

"What are you doing here?" Megumi-sensei asked. "Aren't you supposed to be off watching your Kage?"

Darui snickered and I looked him over. I had only ever seen him in pictures and he was average height, with dark skin and shaggy white hair that hid his left eye. His eyes were a black and dull and his nose was broad, his lips pressed into an ever present frown.

"I was given a side mission." Darui said with a shrug. "Accompany my village brats for this dull mission."

He said the words with a sigh attached to the end of it and I looked at the Cloud shinobi waiting for someone to catch offense, but they didn't. Something told me he was always like that. Bored and lazy. The thought of someone like him guarding a Kage seemed laughable to me but laughing at appearances was beneath me especially after the Orochimaru incident.

Samui looked the same as did everyone else. She regarded all of us with one of her even expressions and Omoi for once was quiet, his arms folded across his chest. He had a toothpick in his mouth and he was looking up at the sky while Karui continued to glare at us.

"Well we should get moving before they do." She said.

"There were two of them." Samui explained. "One who wore the hood and hat and the other who gambled."

"Do we know his name? The gambler?" Kyoske asked.

Omoi nodded. "Kakuzu."

Sensei arched an eyebrow. "Kakuzu?"

Darui nodded. "He's quite fond of money but he's also fond of violence." He nodded back toward Kirigakure.

"There was an old bar near the center of the village, real low key and infamous for bouts of gambling and other illegal things. He went in there last night and now…"

He let his voice trail off and I thought back to our walk through the village, trying to remember the bar.

"There's nothing but ash where that building stood." Hideki said, beating me too it, shock in his voice.

"Huge fight last night." Samui said. "We would have taken him out but he was too quick."

"His jutsu is unique as well." Omoi said. "But his body is even more so."

"What's wrong with it?" Kyoske asked, earning a look from Samui.

"Stitches." Samui said. "Like he's some sort of ragdoll."

"But before he burned the building down, he ripped the heart out of a crime lord's chest." Karui added.

A chill snaked up my spine. Great. He was crazy and sadistic.

"Well then," Sensei said, looking around before she stretched. "What are we waiting for?"


	3. Chapter 3 Kakuzu, the Invincible

**Chapter 3.** Kakuzu, the Invincible

We braced ourselves and I couldn't help but hold my breath, running over everything we knew about our opponent. He had incinerated a building, murdered someone in cold blood by ripping their still beating heart out of their chest according to Omoi, but he was fast too, really fast which seemed to make Darui nervous which in turn seemed to make sensei nervous as well. I wondered if we were enough to bring a shinobi like that down but I tried not to think about it.

We found him near a heavily secluded part of the outlining forest and he was standing outside the mouth of a cave, his body unmoving. He had a white hood pulled over his head and he was tall, very tall, like a pillar almost and he wore the same Akatsuki robes. He hadn't moved for the longest of times and seemed lost in thought, as if he was in some sort of trance.

"What is he doing?" Kyoske whispered, earning a sharp elbow to the ribcage from Hideki.

"Shut up." Karui snipped.

"Stop fighting." Megumi-sensei hissed.

"He's just standing there though." I mumbled. "What is he doing?"

"They're known for that." Samui said. "He's communicating, projecting himself to another location, recording his findings."

"By just standing there?" Kyoske gawked, earning a look that made him flush.

"He's vulnerable." Hideki said, bracing himself.

Darui lifted a hand. "It's not as simple as that. He's very aware of his surroundings and to do what he did last night, he's clearly very powerful. We have to go about this the right way."

"Really?" A dark voice asked, filling the area. It sent shivers up and down my spine and I blinked toward the body in the middle of the clearing.

"And what exactly would that be?" It continued.

We jumped down, joining Kakuzu in the clearing, our bodies tense, well at least mine was.

"We wanted to make just the right entrance." Darui called, stepping forward.

"But we also wanted to fit in a nice chat while we were at it." Sensei said, stepping to Darui's side.

Until we found out what we were up against, they were to lead the attack. The rest of us were just back up and we were supposed to watch each other's backs as much as possible. I searched the trees, trying to stay on the lookout for the second member. For the most part, Kakuzu had been alone for as long as we had been watching him, but I wasn't about to take chances.

"I don't have time for a chat." Kakuzu said. His back was still turned to us but I could see his shoulders rising and falling with his words. My stomach tightened. Something wasn't right about this.

"Well, we beg you to reconsider." Megumi-sensei said, taking another measured step. Darui moved first, running toward Kakuzu while drawing his sword. In the blink of an eye, he was bringing it down and my eyes widened as Kakuzu merely lifted his arm, meeting the blade with ease.

My eyes widened as I saw how dark his arm was, how completely different it was against his regular, tan skin. Darui's sword had gotten caught along one of the ridges on his arm, ridges that looked just as Samui had described them, like stitches. There had even been a sound, a sharp clang and Darui eyed the dark arm raised in a defensive stance before meeting Kakuzu's pupil-less and completely bloodshot green eyes.

"Darui!" Omoi called out, sweat dotting his forehead.

"What's with his arm?" Hideki growled.

Samui's eyes narrowed and Megumi-sensei snickered, raising a kunai.

"Earth Style?" She said. "Bold move."

Kakuzu looked over Darui's shoulder at sensei and his eyes narrowed.

"Bold but stupid." Darui said. "So dull."

"Earth Style has one weakness." Karui said, a smirk playing on the edges of her lips.

"And it's no match for my Black Lightning Technique." Darui said, his hand shaking as his broad sword was covered in black lightening. Almost before our eyes, Kakuzu's arm was weakening and he pulled away before Darui's sword could break through it completely.

"He didn't even have to form hand signs to use that move." Hideki noted.

Kakuzu chuckled, forming quick hand signs before slamming his still dark fist through the ground.

"Earth Style! Rock Trail!" Almost instantly, the ground shook and a moment later, jagged giant rocks broke through the surface of the ground, heading straight toward us.

"Megumi!" Darui yelled, jumping into the air.

"On it." Megumi-sensei growled, forming quick hand signs. "Water Style! Raging Waves!"

"Lightning Style!" Darui growled, raising his sword high above his head as black lightening seeming seemed to crackle outside of his body. "Black Panther!"

The lightening overtook him, forming a literal black panther that shot toward the protruding rock attack. The attack fused with Sensei's and grew even bigger, packing an even more powerful punch as Darui's body ran toward Kakuzu.

"Amazing." I breathed.

"You haven't even begun to see Darui's real power." Karui smiled. "He's the Raikage's bodyguard for a reason."

There was impact and as soon as it was made, Darui jumped into the air, landing behind the cloud of smoke that had formed around Kakuzu's body.

"Did you think it would really be that easy?" Kakuzu called from above.

We all looked up and found him standing on a tree branch, his eyes cruel as he took us in. I looked back at the point of impact and found a singed log in the middle. Substitution.

"What is the Akatsuki planning?" Samui called to him. "We know you've been hunting down the Tailed Beasts, but what is your purpose?"

"Like I would tell you, insolent child." Kakuzu snipped, pushing up the sleeves of his robe.

"Then what do you know about Itachi Uchiha, your group's leader?" I piped up.

Kakuzu shot me a curious look. "Leader?"

Itachi was the strongest shinobi in the group, no one could convince me otherwise. Him being the leader wasn't just assumed, but it was hailed as an all-around fact. He had single-handedly massacred his entire clan and he was so skilled, an entire battle could be played out only in one's head thanks to his Kekkei Genkai. Thinking otherwise, thinking that there was possibly someone even stronger than him…it was curious at best.

Kakuzu formed a hand sign and a moment later a violent wind filled the area but it seemed to wrap itself around him until I couldn't even see him because the winds were so strong.

"Wind Style! Pressure Damage!" His voice boomed through the area and as the tornado of sharp winds picked up, it expanded, forcing our bodies to slide back.

A moment later, we were all flying back, landing hard. When the winds stopped, Kyoske and Omoi groaned while I lied on my side, glaring up at Kakuzu who was chuckling.

"Is this the all you have?" Kakuzu asked. "I thought I was fighting the best."

Karui jumped to her feet and drew her sword, a move that Omoi followed, their teeth clenched together, their bodies trembling with rage. They glared up at Kakuzu who chuckled as he jumped down to the ground before holding out his hands.

"Why don't we show him, Omoi?" Karui snapped.

"Let's." Omoi huffed and together, they shot forward despite, Darui's orders for them to stop. They only made it halfway across the field before black tendrils shot up from the ground, catching their ankles and forcing them to the ground.

"Omoi! Karui!" Samui shouted, rising to her feet just as Kyoske jumped in front of her and with good reason because as soon as he did, a tendril shot up from the ground in front of Samui and it lodged itself deep with Kyoske's shoulder. A moment later, more tendrils shot up from the ground, all of them aiming right for us. Megumi-sensei pulled out a kunai and sliced at them while I took to dodging them. Hideki did a mixture of both and Samui did her best to defend Kyoske before she grabbed his good arm and pulled him free of the tendril.

He cried out and the two of them fell back just as a two tendrils joined forces, melding together to form a massive one that was heading right for them.

Sensei appeared moments before impact and exhaled a powerful stream of water that formed a massive wall. It blocked the attack, deflecting it to the side. Darui appeared, channeling black lightening into his sword once more before he sliced the tendril in half and I watched as it slithered away, burrowing itself into the ground, wriggling away like small snakes.

I looked at Kakuzu and saw the tendrils appearing by his feet snaking up his legs, burrowing into his body. I pushed myself to my feet as Hideki appeared by my side.

"You alright?" He asked.

"That was a close call." I muttered.

Hideki nodded toward Kyoske, who was gripping his shoulder and Samui who was holding him up, her palms pressed lightly on his back. Sympathy was etched into her features as she looked down at him.

"Kyoske, are you okay?" Megumi-sensei asked.

Kyoske nodded, weakly and with Samui's help, managed to move up to his feet.

"He's strong." Samui said.

"What the heck was that?" Karui growled, aggravated.

"Secret kinjutsu from Takigakure." Darui explained.

"And that was just a taste of my true power." Kakuzu said, his voice bitter.

"Secret _stolen_ kinjutsu." Sensei muttered, glancing back at Hideki and I.

"They were like threads." Hideki muttered, lifting a hand to rub at his chin.

"There's no denying he's strong, huh?" I asked. "What do we do?"

"We keep trying." Megumi-sensei said, shooting forward with a kunai in hand. She clashed with Kakuzu and the two resorted to intense Taijutsu until Kakazu caught one of her fists and twisted it painfully to the side. Sensei cried out and just when I was about to move to her rescue, Darui appeared, bringing his sword own on Kakuzu's arm. It cut it clean off and I watched as the arm dropped, releasing Sensei's fist.

Darui didn't stop there and raised his sword again, going for another swipe that Kakuzu blocked with his other hand only to have that too sliced clean off.

"Nice Darui!" Omoi called. "Now he can't use jutsu against us! He has to resort to Taijutsu! We have this in the bag!"

I bit my bottom lip. Of course Omoi didn't catch that Kakuzu didn't need to have hands to perform jutsu, a feat I had only ever seen Orochimaru use. To a certain extent anyone could do it, but a certain level of technique was required, which Kakuzu proved meant nothing to him.

Darui swung his sword down so that the tip was pressing lightly against Kakuzu's throat. They stared at each other until Kakuzu started to chuckle, sounding amused.

"What's so _damn_ funny?" Darui growled.

"You think you've all won." Kakuzu explained.

"If Itachi isn't your leader, who is?" I shouted.

"Keep in mind, you're in no position to think anything is funny right now." Darui growled. "One wrong move and I take your head clean off."

Kakuzu chuckled again, his eyes daring.

"Then do it."

His words made me shake and Karui's eyes widened as she took him in. The defiance. The sheer confidence shined then.

"Answer the question." Darui growled. "What are you monsters planning?"

"Our leader works in the shadows." Kakuzu growled. "I've only ever seen him in person a handful of times."

"And as for our plans…you'll have to wait and see."

That seemed to strike something within Darui and he pushed his sword forward until Kakuzu's head shot out of his body, attached only by the numerous black threads holding it to his body.

Darui and Sensei jumped back, the two leaning on each other as Kakuzu cackled, happy to see them visibly spooked. My eyes widened in my skull and a cold chill snaked up my spine. What was this guy? I had only ever seen Orochimaru elongate his limbs before but this…this was different. The threads, the same black threads that had shot toward us were holding him in together.

"What are you?!" Kyoske growled, aggravated.

"This is still the same Kinjutsu." Megumi-sensei growled. It might have been, but it was clear something was different. Something was wrong with him. It was a lot more than just simple Kinjutsu.

Kakuzu chuckled, his head sliding back into the spot between his shoulders. That was when I felt it, something horrible emanating from him. Thick and suffocating, I shivered again, my knees wobbling as I realized it was power, chakra flowing off of him and it was malicious and dark. Not the darkest I had ever felt, but a close second and it made me nervous. There was a lot more to Kakuzu than met the eye and I glanced at Hideki, silently telling him that I didn't want to find out.

He stared on, sweat forming on his brow, his hands tightening into fists at his sides. He was thinking, his mind racing, the wheels turning. I glanced at Megumi-sensei only to find her frustrated, contempt burning in her eyes. Everyone else stood rigid in their spots though Kyoske looked like he wanted to run for Kakuzu's throat.

"What are you?" Darui asked, his voice surprisingly firm.

Kakuzu looked at him, still chuckling.

"I don't expect you worthless fools to have heard of me." Kakuzu growled. "But, before I go, I suppose I could tell you something."

He seemed to stand straighter, his eyes turning cruel as he regarded us. "I am Kakuzu from Takigakure. You may not have heard of me but you've heard of what I almost accomplished."

"Get on with it already!" Karui growled.

Kakuzu chuckled. "I almost assassinated Hashimara Senju, the first Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

My blood ran cold as this registered and I remembered with pristine clarity the passages in my history book. The assassination had taken up a whole chapter and I remembered that it had taken place around Takigakure's formation as a village. The man who had gone to kill Senju had returned a failure and his name had disappeared from history altogether in turn. I had always assumed that a man like that had been killed off by his own village, because from what the book had hinted at, all that awaited the man when he returned was the weight of his failure and the stigma that came with it. The danger of the mission affected no one, what weighed more was the outcome.

But…if what Kakuzu was saying was true, if he was somehow the man who had tried to kill Senju…it was…it was…

I looked him over. He was a big man, strong in muscle and he didn't look very old, but if I had to guess, I'd peg him for being in his mid-thirties. But, to have survived against Senju, that would mean he was older than that, way older. I looked around, it was clear Kyoske, Karui, Omoi, Hideki, and Samui had a hard time believing him and after giving it another moment of thought, they threw the idea away entirely. It was impossible for Kakuzu to be the same person, unless…

"Body Switch." Hideki breathed.

 _Just like Orochimaru_ , I finished. It was possible. Orochimaru was a lot older than met the eye as well but his skin was fair and taut. His body switch technique had given him a prolonged life but there was a price to be paid. It wasn't hard to believe except Orochimaru was not the sole creator. The purpose for Orochimaru was to stay young, never age, but if Kakuzu didn't seem to have the same agenda. His body was slightly aged, wrinkles forming here and there, but even those seemed frozen.

"Liar." Kyoske growled, pulling out a kunai.

He chuckled again, cracking his neck swiftly before looking at me.

"I don't need your belief pitiful boy." Kakuzu said "But if you don't believe me, go on and prove otherwise."

"What do you want with the Tailed Beasts?" Samui called, stepping forward, her eyes narrowed.

Kakuzu looked at her.

"Hold onto you Beast, Cloud shinobi. You won't have him for much longer." Kakuzu said.

"Don't you dare talk like that!" Karui growled, raising her sword.

"Karui! Stand down!" Darui snapped.

Kakuzu looked toward the east, seeming to smirk under his mask. "It has already begun."

"What has?" Hideki asked, his voice measured.

Kakuzu looked at us, his eyes mischievous. "The next Tailed Beast."

His smirk deepened under his mask, his eyes growing wide.

"The next Tailed Beast has been captured."


	4. Chapter 4 Akatsuki Vs Sand

**Chapter 4. Akatsuki Vs Sand**

He was gone in the next moment, his body melting to the ground, disappearing into a darkened puddle. A moment after, the puddle evaporated, mixing into the air. The power that had surged through the area disappeared and suddenly, it was a little bit easier to breathe and for that, I was grateful. But, by the looks of it, the Cloud ninja were less enthused.

"This is ridiculous!" Karui growled. "We're wasting time just standing around here! What we need to do is go after him right now."

"What do you think he meant by the next beast has been captured?" Hideki asked.

"Forget that! We just let an Akatsuki member slip through our fingers!" Karui snapped.

"Enough." Megumi-sensei snapped. "What we need is to think over the information we've been given."

"He's clearly insane." Samui said. "It's impossible for him to still be alive and looking so young on top of that."

"Even if he was using the body switch technique, it still doesn't make sense. That would mean he created it and that Orochimaru perfected it." Kyoske said.

"Orochimaru was the only one to use it." I said, something in my voice forcing everyone to turn and shoot me a look. I wiped my sweaty palms on the sides of my shorts and folded my arms.

"So what do we do?" Hideki asked.

"Go after him." Karui said, as if it was that simple.

"He had powerful jutsu." Darui said. "Jutsu unlike anything I've ever seen."

I thought back to the threads, Kakuzu's head detached from his body. I shivered.

"Before that version of Kakuzu left, he did steal forbidden jutsu from his village." Megumi-sensei said.

"But we don't know for sure what that jutsu was and something tells me the village won't exactly openly tell us." Darui said.

I jumped up, feeling the blood drain from my face. The next Tailed Beast had been captured. The next Tailed Beast. What if it was Naruto? What if they had captured Naruto? What would they do to him? Had Jiraiya perished in the fight? Or had they captured him too?

"Naruto." I sputtered, earning a look from Hideki.

"I'm sure he's fine." Kyoske said. "He has a Sanin with him after all."

"Who's Naruto?" Samui asked, her eyes narrowing and I could see the wheels turning in her head, practically feel her suspicions taking over. I fought the urge to roll my eyes before I settled onto the ground, hugging myself once more.

Kyoske was right. I had to give Jiraiya some sort of credit. Sanin wasn't a title that was just given to people, it was earned. He was strong no matter what Naruto said about him.

Samui ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Darui-sensei, we don't have time for this."

Darui glanced at her and I watched as the toothpick in his mouth twitched.

"For now, we can't give chase."

"But Darui—" Omoi spoke up now and looked about ready to plead his case just as Karui was ready to throw a fit.

"We don't have all the pieces yet." Megumi-sensei said. "Besides, look around. There's no sign of him. He's gone and tracking him all over again could use up all of our resources."

"But we have a possible lead, an identity. We can try and see if there's any truth to it." Darui said. "That way we'll be better prepared for next time."

"That's all it ever is with the Akatsuki." Karui spat, her body trembling, rage swirling behind her eyes. "Next time this and next time that. He threatened B."

"And that's something that we take seriously." Darui said, his voice calm, his eyes hard.

"Yeah, well it doesn't seem like you're taking it serious enough." Karui snapped before turning and running off.

"Karui!" Samui called before running after her. Omoi shot a glance at all of us, seeming torn before he turned and ran off after his squad.

Darui sighed a moment after, seeming tired beyond his years. He glanced at Megumi-sensei who was shaking her head.

"Well, there goes that." Darui said. "Sorry about that. My kids can get pretty emotional."

"So for now…" Hideki said. "We're done?"

"It would appear so." Megumi-sensei said. "Going after him is foolish and who knows if he was heading out to meet the other one."

"What about what they said?" I asked.

Sensei looked at me. "What about it?"

"They captured a Tailed Beast." I said with a shrug. "Shouldn't we at least investigate that?"

Both Jonin were silent for a moment, seeming to think my words over.

"He could have been bluffing." Kyoske pointed out.

"Each member possesses unique strength and abilities." Hideki said. "I wouldn't put it past them."

"We can keep our ears and eyes open but acting out against orders is not part of it." Megumi-sensei said. "We don't know enough about them and even what we do know is still a disadvantage."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We know that Itachi Uchiha is strong but you all discovered that he wasn't the leader of the group so the only question that remains is, who is? It has to be someone even stronger to bring an Uchiha as powerful as Itachi to his knees." Megumi-sensei said.

"The kid is cold-hearted strength and determination." Darui said. "It's hard to believe that anyone has any sort of control over him at all."

"But there is someone like that." Hideki said, balling his hands into tight fists at his sides.

"And something tells me we haven't even met them yet." I said.

"Something tells me we haven't even begun to scratch at the surface of the Akatsuki period." Sensei finished.

…

It was a lot to process.

So, I focused on what I knew, thought through everything, even went as far as pulling out a notebook on my bed later on that day and scratching names between the lines.

Itachi Uchiha, the murderer of the entire Uchiha clan except for Sasuke. He was quiet, his eyes dark, but his face firm, almost tired in appearance. He had always seemed over everyone and everything around him but I had seen in the Dojutsu he had cast over me the last time we met that meant he had a soft spot, somewhere in his body. He cared for someone, even if it was just a small amount.

That someone was Karin. Karin was a kunoichi who was brazen and loud and obsessed with him and she also happened to be connected to me through Orochimaru's torturous experiments. If she died, so did I and vice versa. She hated me and always made it known anytime we had the misfortune of meeting and while I felt the same way about her, she was a skilled fighter. She used metal pipes, that from what I remembered helped channel her chakra and the blast they exuded could blast through rocks and upturn trees.

Then there was Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Hidden Mist, a man I had read about in my history books growing up. He had been a feared creature long before Zabuza and he was just as deadly and skilled as Itachi. His distinct shark-like appearance and snaggle-toothed grin could make anyone uneasy but his sword, the legendary Samehada was one he had stolen from its slain master, a master he had slayed himself.

There was Konan, the paper jutsu kunoichi, the one who had been with Karin. She had been fairly quiet from what I could remember, but I knew she was strong. She had to be if she could hold her own alongside someone like Karin and wear the same robes as Itachi.

I drew lines connecting them all, little hearts between the lines connecting Itachi and Karin and squiggly line between Itachi and Kisame. Then, there was Kakuzu who I drew outside of the small connections, question marks all around his name. I twisted my lips, my head starting to ache distantly. It didn't add up, nothing did and I felt as lost as I had been before. What was I missing?

Itachi wasn't the leader but he was strong and I knew this. I had fought against him enough times to know that I had never even been able to tire him once. But, if he wasn't as strong as the real leader, why was he there to begin with? He was like Sasuke, something with authority seeming to rub them the wrong way. I had never heard Sasuke call Kakashi "sensei" and though Itachi was older and probably did use honorifics, there was a burning sense of ulterior motives in his eyes. He would play the game but he would also kill you the next chance he had.

I circled Itachi. But, what if that was it? What if he planned on overthrowing the leader? He wouldn't be able to do it alone, he would need help and there was Karin who would follow him to the fiery pits of hell and back and Kisame who was all about a good revolution. The three of them had to be able to do some damage overall and so what if one of them perished in the crossfires, Itachi would win no matter what.

I sat up from my bed and pulled my hair back into a hasty ponytail, my stomach rumbling distantly. The moment I had touched down on the village, I had chosen to go off on my own while everyone else had gone to eat dinner. I pushed myself up and walked into my kitchen, searching my cabinets for something good.

 _Sasuke._

The thought crossed me suddenly, sending a chill through my body. I stiffened and looked down at my countertop. I knew it had been inevitable I couldn't think about one brother without longing for the other. All the Akatsuki talk was bound to make it happen sooner or later.

I pulled a cup of ramen out from a pack on the cabinet and cradled it against my chest. The last time I had seen him, I had been with Naruto and the two had planned, with no words, to knock me out. I had been on the verge of hysterics, had just buried my Granny and I couldn't even begin to fathom losing anyone else. The thought of Sasuke leaving me again had filled me with dread and I had clung to him, had been moments away from slapping my hands against his chest and screaming if he hadn't slid a hand behind my neck, lifting it slightly before letting it come down…

I lifted a hand, placing it lightly against the base of my neck. I didn't even remember hitting the ground, but then again I hadn't. I was pretty sure I had fallen back into Naruto's expectant arms. The memory burned in my head along with our last encounter in the hotel room. Everything that had been bad with us had faded to the background and all that mattered was pulling his body as close to mine as possible.

I pulled back the lid on my ramen and placed it on the counter, moving toward my water kettle.

It was hard to believe that the terrible reign of my brother and sister had ended just a few months ago. I was free and yet, it didn't feel like it. There was still so much to do, so much still at stake, and so much lost. Granny had been the one last piece of family I had had left and she had been murdered, not as viciously as my real family had, but close enough. I missed her, felt my need for her quick wit and stern gazes in my bones. She hadn't approved of Sasuke just as everyone else, but she had seen right through us too.

I set the water to boil as I turned back toward my bed. Before it all, Sasuke and I had been inseparable. As he had said the night he had left Konoha, he simply couldn't leave me behind and I hadn't understood the meaning of his words until our meetings officially began. I had been obsessed with finding the next clue, with the need to see him. No meeting was ever enough and that was when our fighting started, right after the peak of our passion began to simmer down.

Naruto hadn't liked the fact that I had been seeing Sasuke and I hadn't blamed him but then again, he hadn't exactly voiced his opinion. Last I had seen of Naruto he had sworn just like he had the day he had gone off to train that he would bring him back. _Somehow_. It seemed impossible. Sasuke was set on his wants and desires and I had confessed love for him before he had left a few months ago and even though the words didn't feel like they did any justice, it had been all I had had in the moment.

I sat down at the foot of my bed, rubbing my hands up and down my thighs, my mind racing.

What was he doing now? Did he miss me the way I missed him? Did he even think of me? Could he? Could he even bring himself to wonder even, if it was for a second about me, take the focus off of his hatred for Itachi? I didn't know the answers to the questions but I knew that I did miss him and our escapades haunted me, waking me from my dreams at night, the distant feel of his lips on mine.

Suddenly, a hard banging sounded at my front door, rousing me from my deep thoughts but also startling me. I jumped up, my eyes wide as the banging continued, the hand doing it desperate.

"Miyuki! Miyuki! Open up! Hurry up! It's an emergency!"

I fingered the sash around my waist, pulling my kimono top closed some more as I jumped up from my bed, alarmed. What could have possibly happened in the past three hours?

 _Naruto_.

I could hardly breathe as I opened the door, fearing the worst, my chest tightening. The captured beast…

"Miyu—" Kyoske almost fell in as the door eased open and he stumbled into my apartment, sweat sliding down the sides of his face as he looked at me. He was winded and on edge.

"What is it?" I asked. Had something happened to sensei? She had mentioned something about going to see Kakashi in a few days. Had she decided to head out sooner and got into a fight?

Kyoske panted, his hands on his knees as his body bent over.

"We…need…to…go." He managed. "Right now."

"Go where, Kyoske?" I asked.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes firm.

"The…Akatsuki…they…they…"

"They _what_?" I asked, tears starting to form in my eyes. They had hurt him. They had killed him. Poor Naruto and his dreams. Or sensei. They had wanted to get back at us. They had cornered her, and even when she had tried to escape, they hadn't let her.

Kyoske swallowed, the action seeming to pain me. I reached for him then, jerking him straight as I caught him by the collar of his shirt, my eyes hard, my words surprisingly firm given my inner turmoil.

"What happened? Answer me, Kyoske! Who's hurt? Is it Sensei? Is it Naruto?"

"Neither." A voice said from my door.

I turned toward it, still clutching Kyoske by his collar as Hideki stepped into the doorframe, his expression solemn, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants

"Then who is it?" I asked, releasing Kyoske who went back to his panting, his words lost in his breath.

Hideki looked at me. "It's the Sand."

I blinked at him.

"It's Gaara." Hideki continued, his voice low. "He's been taken by the Akatsuki. Kankuro…tried to help him, to save him but he…he's hurt."

"He's _dying_." Kyoske snapped, finally able to form words as he pushed himself up, his eyes hard and filled with venom.

I felt numb, cold even. I blinked at Hideki as his words processed. Gaara. Gaara. Another Jinchūriki. Gaara. My Gaara. The Kage of the Sand Village. The Kage I had watched get sworn into office. The same Gaara who had been like a brother to me.

My tears started to fall but they felt odd sliding down my cheeks. I felt my face freezing up, tightening. He had been taken. The Tailed Beast that had been captured, the beast that Kakuzu had been talking about…

Kankuro. Dying.

My heart clenched and I gasped, lifting a hand to cover my mouth as my tears came down faster and my knees wobbled. No. _No_.

"Miyuki, c'mon." Kyoske said. "We have to help them."

"We have to go before we run out of time." Hideki said.

Run out of time? _Who_ , I wanted to ask. Which one of them had more time? Who were we going to save first?


	5. Chapter 5 Chaos & Defeat

NOTE: If you don't like the whole Temari & Gaara pairing...well, Idk what to tell you. Again in this fanfic, they are not brother and sister. In fact, Gaara has only one sibling and that is Kankuro.

~Enjoy!~

Chapter 5. Chaos & Defeat

It was chaos. The Sand Village had been thrown into deep despair and everyone ran frantically around, their eyes constantly looking up toward the sky, fear seeming to fill every part of the air around them.

The Hokage office was even more distraught, village elders yelling at each other, medics running to and from the building. Some sort of order was trying to be established, but it was clear by the look in Baki's eye that it was all in vain.

"Where's Temari?" I asked, running up to him as soon as I made out his figure in the crowd.

At first, he could only blink down at me. He was bleary eyed with dark bags under his eye. His expression softened once recognition hit and he managed a nod.

"She's with Kankuro. Hasn't left his side." He said, his voice dry.

"Has he regained consciousness?" Megumi-sensei asked.

I looked up at Sensei. They had said he had been hurt and was dying but no one had mentioned that Kankuro was unconscious. Unless, they had and I had been so focused on getting to the Sand that I had tuned everything around me out. The boat ride over had been just as frantic. I had been running on autopilot while everyone talked over me while a sickening feeling twirling around in my belly.

"Where are they?" Hideki asked.

"The hos—" Baki had barely managed to say the word before I was running out the doors of the Hokage office toward the hospital. I knew that everyone was calling after me but I ignored them, focusing instead on making it to Temari's side.

I burst through the hospital doors and gave a few rushed words to the nurse at the front desk, who was trying to maintain some sort of order in her front area. I bolted past her after she prattled off a room number, and ran to the appropriate medical chamber until finally, I stood on the outside of the room, staring in through the glass paneling at Temari sitting beside Kankuro.

He was motionless and lying on a steel table, though he trembled every now and then. His expression was pained and he had a light sweat dotting his brow. Temari sat beside him with a stoic look on her face as she dotted carefully at his brow with a damp towel.

I opened the door and Temari looked up at me, not seeming startled or even affected in the slightest by my presence. I was out of breath and quickly made my way to her side, kneeling beside her. Beside Kankuro was a tray of medical equipment with all sorts of tools for prying glinting even with the dim lighting. I studied his body and couldn't help but feel the pang of sorrow for him. Even though he was unconscious, it was clear that he was in a lot of pain.

"How is he?" I breathed, shooting Temari a glance.

She didn't answer at first, just continued her ministrations of dotting at Kankuro's brow with the damp towel. She dipped the towel in the pan on her lap and wrung it dry before folding it and placing it on top of Kankuro's head.

"Temari." I said, my voice small, almost afraid. I could only imagine how she was feeling. I had felt it too when my brother had hurt Sasuke, or even worse when I had let my inner demon take over and _I_ had hurt him. It was the worst pain, seeing someone you cared deeply for getting hurt. But, it was different too. Temari only had Kankuro who was barely holding on by the looks of it and Gaara—

"He has a fever." Temari managed, her voice as low as a whisper.

I nodded, happy at least that she was speaking. I had expected to find a zombified version of her locked in her bedroom. But, here she was sitting beside Kankuro, holding his hand even. She took what seemed like a long and deep breath, which also seemed to take a lot out of her. She looked tired, and like Baki, she too had dark circles and a light puffiness under her eyes. Her skin even had a paler tone to it, almost sickly. Had she eaten? Had she moved from her seat at all in the last 24 hours?

"He's gonna pull through." I said. "I'll make sure of it."

Temari shook her head and I watched as her eyes watered, the tears threatening to fall. I had never seen her cry before, much less sympathy even gather in her eyes. I froze up, unsure whether to pull her against me or let her deal with it on her own.

"I wasn't there for him." Temari sucked in a breath as a single tear slid down her cheek. She reached up as if to wipe it before her hand came down over her mouth instead, her shoulders trembling.

"Temari…" I said, reaching for her, but my hand never made it to her shoulder. It was like a wall had come down between us. I couldn't bring myself to touch her and I wanted to, more than anything. I didn't want to see her cry or see her sad. We had never been the greatest of friends, but she had still been there to offer a handful of kind words. She knew Gaara meant a lot to me as I did to Gaara. She tolerated me at best and now she was broken.

"I was in _stupid_ Konoha." Temari breathed, squeezing her eyes shut, causing more tears to spill over.

I pulled my hand back to my chest.

"I was making sure everything was good for the Exams…I left…I left and I wanted to hurry back. I didn't want to be gone so long. I would have been back…"

"Temari…" I said, watching her break further right in front of my eyes.

"Then Kankuro…Kankuro was so stupid…he thought he could…fight them…he can't…he couldn't…he wouldn't…he won't…"

My heart quickened. She was going through the phases. She was thinking the worst and I refused to let her.

"Don't say it." I said, gathering courage as I placed a hand on her arm. She froze under my touch and looked at me, silent tears streaming down her face.

"They'll be fine. _Both_ of them." I said. "Now first thing's first."

I looked down at Kankuro's shivering body and lowered my hands, letting them hover just above his chest. I let my hands fall down a little further and using my medical Ninjutsu made out a wound on his chest and abdomen. My hands glowed green a moment later and I could see inside of his body.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Poison." Temari sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

"How?"

"He went up against the Akatsuki that's how." Temari said, her eyes hardening. "He didn't even bother waiting."

"He was driven by emotion I'm sure." I said, pulling my hands away. I couldn't even begin to identify the toxic poison in his veins and I knew with that alone I couldn't stop it. I wasn't strong enough for it. Kankuro needed Tsunade and even she, I was sure, would need a few days to figure it out in order to develop some sort of antidote. Who knew if Kankuro even had that long...

"Yeah, well he could've waited for me at least." Temari sniffed again, pushing up from her seat before stumbling slightly. I reached out to steady her but she lifted a hand, stopping me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Temari growled, her eyes cutting over to me and making me flinch. It softened as she remembered and she looked back down at Kankuro, grabbing his hand.

"We were attacked." She said. "In the middle of the night by the Akatsuki."

Her shoulders trembled again and she looked at me, fire burning behind her eyes. "They took him. They tried to take out the entire village and he defended it but it was just a trap. A cruel trap…"

"Temari…" I said her name again, feeling the emotion in her words, the sheer rage.

"He fought them! Gave himself up to defend…" Temari looked away and took a measured breath once more, blinking back tears.

"He was doing his job." I said. "A Hokage puts it all on the line and fights for his people."

"Yeah, well what about _me_?!" Temari snapped. She swung back to face me and pushed my hand away, knocking down the plastic chair beside Kankuro's metal bed in the process.

"What about what _I_ want!? What _I_ wanted?!" She continued, a few tears slipping out again. She was furious and in pain, shouting because it was the only thing that made sense.

"Then this idiot goes off and tries to get him back!" Temari said, motioning toward Kankuro. "He tried to fight them! Those…those monsters! Look what they did to him!"

"Temari, it will be okay—"

"NO IT WON'T!" Temari snapped, making me flinch again. She took a step toward me and I took one back, holding up my hands.

"It won't be okay! I'm sick of everyone telling me that!" Temari shouted. "It won't be okay because I _can't_ lose them! I can't lose either of them and I most certainly can't lose _him_!"

She turned, running trembling hands through her hair as she looked down at Kankuro. Silence passed between us as she did this and just as she was wearily sliding down to the floor, I joined her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She took another shaky breath before she broke down sobbing and I pulled her head against my shoulder.

"I can't…I can't…" She sobbed breathlessly against me. "I can't lose him…not him…not Gaara…"

A pit pulled my stomach down just as a hole in my chest opened at the mere thought. No. We couldn't…we wouldn't…

"You won't." A voice said, rousing us from our sorrows.

Weakly, we looked toward the doorway and found a boy with golden hair and determined blue eyes staring down at us. He wore a pair of orange pants and had a matching orange and black jacket. His hair was spiky and he had dark whisker-like markings on his face. He was tall and lean and he looked mature, only a hint of baby fat weighing down on his cheeks. Temari stirred first while I blinked in disbelief.

"Naruto." Temari said in a breathless tone before pulling away from me and rising to her feet with a forced smile on her face.

"N-Naruto." I said, my voice like a whisper as I pushed up to my feet.

In the flesh, after all these months, looking much taller and much older. It felt like a figment of my imagination. He had always been a few inches taller than me but not by much but this Naruto had at least a good foot over me.

He looked me over, his eyes confused at first until recognition worked its way into them. I heard more familiar voices starting down the hall and his eyes widened before I could look at them. In an instant, he was in front of me, pulling me against him fiercely and I buried my face into his jacket, my body trembling as tears slipped from my eyes.

"We're gonna get him back." Naruto said. "And we're gonna make them sorry they ever set foot in the Sand."

His vengeful words made me tremble and as we pulled away, I lifted my hands, swiping them under my eyes. I had no doubt looking at him, watching as he nodded at Temari who returned his with her own, that he would. That we all would.

…

"How have you been?" I asked, my voice low, my hands gripping my knees.

Naruto sat beside me in the hallway outside of Kankuro's surgery room. We were sitting on the floor, while our sensei's and the boys talked in two separate corners, their heads huddled together. Inside the surgical room, was Temari who had insisted on standing by Kankuro's side, as a team of medical ninja as well as Baki, and lastly lead by Sakura, who had found out a cure for the poison, performed the procedure. I still couldn't wrap my head around the Sakura part though and from what I had caught glimpses of, Sakura had become a stellar medical ninja over the past two years.

Naruto stirred beside me, shooting me a glance before looking up the hall at our sensei's.

"Good." He managed. "You?"

I bit my bottom lip. I was scared, and still a little numb. Half caught between running to find Gaara and staying behind to find out what Kankuro knew. I was anxious and not even the tea that I had purchased at the food cart hadn't helped.

"Could be better, given the circumstances."

Naruto nodded, reaching up to place a hand at the back of his neck. "What do you know about it?"

"Same as everyone else, I guess." I said. "Suna was attacked, he defended it, using every last ounce of strength he had and as he was falling, they caught him. Kankuro tried to stop them but he was no match and now…"

"He's going to make it." Naruto said before I could steer myself down that road of sorrow again. "Sakura is great. She can heal him. She'll make him better."

"Sakura…" I breathed, remembering the look in her eyes when Naruto had pulled back and stepped aside. She hadn't looked much different, her dress had been replaced with a red shirt bearing the same design, black shorts underneath and a short light pink apron-like skirt underneath. She even had black knee-high sandals on with a low heel and black gloves. She had stared at me bewildered at first before she had warmed and given me a greeting, something along the lines of "It's been too long".

"She trained under Tsunade?" I asked.

Naruto nodded. "Medical Ninjutsu isn't all she has either."

I arched an eyebrow. What more could Sakura do other than perform medical miracles? I looked toward our sensei's and found that they were breaking free from their touch base in the corner to face us.

"Alright." Megumi-sensei said, stepping toward us. Kyoske and Hideki pushed to their feet instantly, but I was slower.

"We're heading out first." Megumi-sensei said.

"Where are we going?" Kyoske asked.

"To map out the road ahead." Megumi-sensei. "We're going to do our best to track them, get a feel of the surroundings and if we can initiate contact."

I nodded.

"Worst case scenario, we do whatever we can to stop the extraction process." Megumi-sensei said. "We know that they're heading toward vacant lands which is probably how they've done their extractions in the past."

"Extractions?" Kyoske repeated.

"They're planning to remove the beast from him." Hideki said.

"But doing that kills him." I said, growing defensive.

"Which we're not going to let happen." Megumi-sensei said, calming me.

I took a breath of relief.

"We'll be right behind them once Sakura finishes up." Kakashi said before Naruto could speak up to protest.

"They'll let us know if they learn anything from Kankuro when he wakes up." Sensei said. "But it's imperative that we leave as soon as possible."

I nodded and looked at Naruto who seemed to be at war with sensei's words. On one hand he seemed to agree with it, on the other, he didn't want to. I placed a hand on his arm and gave him a firm nod.

"We'll just be stalling." I said. "Then we'll get them together."

Naruto didn't bother giving it a second's thought. He merely let us go and we did. Kakashi lent us Pakkun, one of his tracker dogs, who promised to help us narrow the search. Apparently during the fight, Gaara had managed to rip off one of the Akatsuki member's arms and Pakkun could make out his scent. We ran out of the village, past the gates, and past the sand dunes. We gave it all we had, stopping for nothing and my resolve hardened.

 _I was going to help him_ , I promised. I wasn't going to let Gaara go that easily. I was going to give it everything I had. How could I expect to bring Sasuke back, to make him believe that he needed us as much as we needed him, if I couldn't face the Akatsuki?

"Do we know anything about them?" Hideki asked.

"Other than what we already know?" Kyoske snickered. "We're going to rip off their other arm."

"There were two of them." Megumi-sensei said.

"What about the other member that had been with Kakuzu?" I asked.

"No." Megumi-sensei said, glancing back at us. "These two were different."

"What about them, though?" Hideki asked.

"One engaged Gaara, went on and on about art or something to that effect. He fought with a clay jutsu that exploded upon contact." Megumi-sensei explained. "That was how they took him. They tricked him, put his village on the line, knowing he'd protect it no matter what and he imbedded his clay explosives in Gaara's sand."

"Sneaky." Hideki grumbled.

"And not something easily noticed given his other option." I said.

Sensei nodded.

"How's the scent?" Kyoske called ahead to Pakkun.

He took a hearty sniff before turning around and nodding at us. "It's still strong. Can't say that Kakashi and the others will have much luck, but they can follow our tracks."

"We're going to keep in constant communication." Sensei said.

"I wish we knew something." Hideki said. "We've never really gone in blind before but this…we don't know what to expect."

"Think about it this way." Megumi-sensei said. "There's nothing holding us back now. We get to have all the fun before the Leaf arrives."

"What if it's a trap?" I asked.

"We never worried about that before." Kyoske said. "Besides, we've survived tons of traps."

"If worse comes to worse we have to use the Curse marks." Hideki said.

"Their crime against the Sand hasn't gone unnoticed." Megumi-sensei said. "Orders are to stop them at any means necessary."

We all nodded and I felt anticipation lick at my insides. This was it, our moment. I thought about Itachi and Sasuke's desire to kill him. If Itachi got in my way I wouldn't have any other chance other than to eliminate him and I wasn't going to back down not when it came to Gaara.

A few hours later we had entered a grassy area to which Pakkun commented that he was surprised they had made it so far, given one of them was wounded. Sensei told us to look out for blood and we did, our eyes scanning every crevice of our surroundings, our bodies tense as we moved through the brush, jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

"We're close." Pakkun sniffed.

I felt my hands ball into tight fists at my sides. The more I thought about Gaara in the hands of the Akatsuki, the more upset I became. I was determined, the fire burning bright and hot inside of me. Any means necessary. The Akatsuki didn't know what was coming.

"Up ahead!" Kyoske breathed, his eyes trained up toward the tree line. "In the sky!"

A rattling came from deep within the trees and I looked to the side, barely having enough time to shout a warning before something large shot out from the trees, piercing through the air between us. We jumped out of the way, scattering like roaches before whatever had come for us, became a body. It was large and rattling and had a massive scorpion-like appendage on its back with a torpedo-shaped, metal arm. Its eyes were fierce and they glared down at us, before jumping down to the ground.

"What…what is that?" Kyoske asked, sweat dotting his brow.

"It's a puppet." Megumi-sensei growled.

"Where's it's handler?" Hideki asked, his eyes instantly scanning the trees, looking for the chakra covered threads no doubt. I searched myself, my eyes scanning the tree branches before looking back at the puppet, my body tense and wary.

"Inside." Megumi-sensei growled her eyes narrowed.

"Inside?" I nearly choked, startled.

"It has armor." Pakkun said. "On its back."

"It's covering itself, on all sides." I said. "A puppet always has a weakness so if the handler is inside…"

"He built an impressive and impenetrable fortress around his body." Megumi-sensei snickered, lifting a hand to wipe at her mouth. "Which makes this whole thing that much more interesting."

"I didn't expect back up to arrive so quickly, yeah." A voice called from above.

"I don't have time for this." The body underneath the puppet replied huskily.

I looked up at the shinobi flying in the air, his hair a gleaming golden color. He had a strange metal piece covering his left eye and his expression was snarky and full of spite. He had a piece of his blonde hair covering his left eye but the passing breeze revealed what was underneath. Both men were wearing the Akatsuki robes and the one in the air was floating on what looked like a strange bird, the back feathers curled inward, a body wrapped inside.

"Gaara." I breathed, reaching for a kunai until Sensei lifted a hand.

"Hand over the Kazekage and you might have a chance at getting away." She said, her voice calmer than I would have put it.

The blonde man snickered while the other man's eyes grew a shade darker.

"We can't keep the others waiting for this nonsense." The puppet replied.

"You can simply say that you failed your mission." Megumi-sensei called.

"I thought we had a chance at escaping, hm?" The blonde called. "Doesn't sound like you're giving us a choice right now."

Sensei narrowed her eyes. "I'm giving you the chance to reconsider."

"Shame we won't." The puppet replied before darting toward us, his tail rattling.

"Move!" Hideki called. We jumped away as the puppet landed but the tail swung full circle, coming down at Kyoske who drew his sword and blocked it, the two seeming to fight against each other.

"Don't get too attached to that tail." Megumi-sensei said, pulling out a kunai from her holster. "I plan on ripping that off."

"Let's see you try it." The puppet responded, his eyes dark.

"Water Style! Raging Waves!" Hideki said, firing off his attack. The puppet pushed away from Kyoske before jumping away from the attack.

"Miyuki!" Sensei called as her and the boys surrounded the puppet once more. It was clear the puppet master was skilled. It would take all their strength to bring him down. I looked up at the blonde man standing on the strange bird. He, I wasn't sure about, but if I had to guess he too preferred long distance fighting judging by the way he stayed just on the outskirts of battle.

I looked at Gaara's body once more before I started toward the blonde, aiming to detach him from the bird one way or another. The blonde man smirked as I drew closer before he held up his hands, palms up in the air. I slowed only to see something white pop up from the palm before he clenched them into fists. A moment after, he was throwing whatever it was at me and I watched as it formed two birds.

I pulled out my kunai and swiped at one when it got close enough before it exploded and I went flying backwards, slamming onto the ground just before the other bird swooped around the side. I grunted, pushing to my feet before it landed and managing to jump out of the way as it detonated.

"Explosives." I huffed under my breath before I fixed a hard look at the man. How had he done that?

 _He fought with a clay jutsu that exploded upon contact._

As the wind blew again, I saw that the boy's forehead protector bore the symbol of Iwagakure. I remembered that Iwa also had some sort of explosion corp. Judging by the line crossed through the middle of his headband, I knew those days were behind him.

"My art will blow you away little girl!" The blonde shouted.

I glared at him. "It's not very good, so I doubt it."

His eye bulged but I built chakra in my feet to move faster before I jumped up. There was no water nearby and I didn't want to waste the little I carried in the canteen around my waist either, besides, it wouldn't be enough. I had to rely on my brute strength for now.

"You'll pay for that!" The blonde shouted. "You don't know the first thing about _my_ art!"

I made hand signs before cupping one of my hands. "Chidori!" I shouted, a lightening ball forming in my hand. I ran toward him and he dodged it as I had expected but my goal was to land on the bird, which thanks to my improved speed, I managed to do. After that it was pure Taijutsu which he blocked but with strained force. It was clear that while he had a decent defense, I was still stronger. It would only be a matter of kicks and punches until I broke his defenses down.

I put my all into the last kick only to have him deflect my hit and have my foot stick. I groaned, struggling to pull my foot away but the clay slowly started eating my foot up. I sliced a kunai through it only to have the blonde appear behind me before he pulled me over his shoulder and threw me off. I struggled to grasp purchase as I fell through the trees and finally managed to drag a kunai against tree bark. My body hung on the side and I looked down at my clay covered foot, gritting my teeth together.

"Lucky I didn't put explosives in the clay, hm." The blonde called, his bird still hovering just beyond my reach. I jumped down to the ground and eyed the bird. I had to separate Gaara from him, but it seemed like it would be easier said than done.

Using a kunai, I scraped the clay off my feet, making a disgusted face as I watched it stick to my kunai, dulling it. I tossed it toward the ground, watched it bounce once before shooting a dark look up at the blonde man.

A moment later, I had a plan but I hoped my diversion worked at least. I forced hand signs and inhaled before blowing out a fireball that launched itself toward the flying Akatsuki member who dodged it before coming to strike back. I braced myself before launching toward him, forming more hand signs along the way. In a matter of moments, a hazy mist covered the entire area, wafting out from the tree leaves.

"What is this?!" The blonde shrieked, slowing his charge.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu." The puppet growled as he fought against sensei and the boys.

I weaved hand signs while holding my breath, my eyes scanning the fog, as I waited patiently for him to hover close enough.

"Sasori! I can't see anything!" The blonde called.

I could see the shadow of the massive bird hovering just outside of the reach of the thick mist and smirked, pulling out a scroll from my weapons pouch and flattening it out on the tree branch I had perched on. I summoned the mini- Jidanda, a spiked metal ball on all sides and gripped the chain it was attached to before I jumped out of the fog, swinging it above my head.

The blonde's eyes widened as he saw me and looked in a rush to leave until I threw the Jidanda watching as it wrapped around his bird's neck and pulled, making the bird move closer. He held up a hand sign and hesitated as he glared at me.

"Enough or it explodes!"

I stopped in my tracks, jumping to yet another branch, gripping the chain in my fists.

"Is that what you want, yeah? You want me to blow him to pieces too?"

My eyes narrowed. Just a little more time.

"I'll do it!" The blonde yelled. I could see it in his eyes, he really was ready to do it.

"I'm not afraid of you." I said standing my ground while my clone got in position. I could see it posted in a nearby tree, ready for the signal.

The blonde snickered, his eyes cruel. "We'll see about that, hm."

I pulled out another summoning scroll and with it came a Fūma shuriken. Without waiting another moment, I threw it and watched as the man snickered, dodging it with ease. I had been too close for him to avoid it, so the only other option was for him to jump to the side, which was exactly what I had anticipated. My clone shot forward, stepping onto the bird just as the blonde man was jumping to the side. His eye widened as he caught sight of my clone which delivered a swift kick to the side of his face and sent his body tumbling off to the side. My clone got to work immediately with trying to free Gaara's body, using a kunai to slice and cut at the clay.

The blonde man landed on his feet but didn't hide his annoyance with me. He looked up and glared while I descended from the trees. His cheek was looking a little bruised from the kick but he didn't rub it. Instead, he wiped his mouth and held out his hands, palms down.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that, _hm_." He said as two globs of clay fell from the palms of his hands and onto the ground before they started to tremble and grow, taking shape. There was a string still hanging from his hands as the blobs rose to form legs, crude hands, and arms before it started running toward me.

I pulled out a kunai and swiped at them, making sure to swipe and jump back in case they detonated on contact but instead I watched with mute horror as they regenerated. They looked even cruder than before and shot toward me again. I was jumping and dodging, swiping and cutting only and on one clay doll, I cut off its arm. I took the time to wipe the sweat from my brow, smirking confidently as I looked down at the clay creature but then my eyes widened as not only another arm sprouted from the doll but the arm once limp on the ground started to sprout arms and legs too. Another string popped out from the first clay doll, connecting it to the other and soon, three dolls were charging toward me.

I realized several moments later that cutting off their limbs would only create more of the horrendous creatures and they would only get creepier. I was getting tired and panting and though I had been through worse, it was a pointless battle and I knew it wouldn't be long before I somehow backed myself into a corner.

"Had enough yet?" The blonde cackled.

I glanced up at my clone only to find it getting swallowed up by one of the clay dolls before the doll jumped to the ground and detonated. I cried out, the blast powerful enough to make me slide back slightly. But, it also gave the dolls power and one of them tried to punch me, the blow narrowly missing my head until I wove hand signs and held out my hands, two thick pythons sliding out from the sleeves of my shawl before they wrapped tightly around the clay doll that was trying to attack me again. I jumped back as the pythons squeezed and squeezed until the blonde made the clay detonate again, python bits flying everywhere and a thick cloud of angry, black smoke started to rise.

I was getting ready to try and move to higher ground when something whizzed past me, thin and sleek and as I turned to look at it, my eyes widened as I recognized the metal pole.

"Ka—" I could barely get the name out because in the next moment, the pole landed and almost instantly, the ground beneath my feet gave away. I screamed, struggling to keep my balance and stay above ground when I spotted something white crawling out between the bits of rock. Tiny white spiders with small and beady black eyes.

They exploded and my body went flying backwards. My ears popped instantly and I couldn't see anything other than a large expanse of white. I landed, hard and my body rolled to the side before my head slammed against the bark of a tree. I could feel the blackness pulling me under almost instantly and as I blinked absently at the once blue and clear sky, I was unable to move my body. In the distance, I made out voices, muffled at first but picking up clarity.

"I didn't need your help, Karin!" The blonde growled, his voice distorted as everything became foggy.

"Looked like you did." Karin replied, sounding surprisingly calm. "Pitiful fight back there by the way."

"Wasted too much time." Another voice, the puppet grumbled. "Now we're late."

"Those Leaf brats are heading over." Karin said. "I'd make it quick if I were you two idiots."

"Who are you calling an idiot, hm?!" The blonde growled.

"Calm it tongue-hands." Karin spat. I also imagined the rage that came over his face at her words.

"These ones will be out for a while." The puppet said. His voice seemed to stretch on for miles and miles as the blackness in my eyes seemed to get even thicker. It swirled around my head and behind my eyes and right before it all came crashing down, my head rolled to the side and I knew it was over.


End file.
